beverages

I was originally just going to talk about how much I like juice, but I think I'm going to make it a comprehensive post about beverages instead.

Oh man, do I love the juice. My family makes the juice themselves from scratch. They have a juicer, but they don't use it to make juice. They just chop up lemons and put them in the blender, peels and all. Then they pour it through a screen, and it comes out delicious. I'm guessing the addition of water, and probably sugar, happens somewhere. Anyway, it's awesome. Even the store-bought juice is great. I haven't had juice this good since Jerusalem, when my roommate and I would buy a carton of juice and then drink it all right when we got back.

They serve tea here with mint and tons of sugar, which is how I like it. For some reason adding sugar is associated with weakness at home, and I resent it. There's no reason it should be weak to prefer a particular taste. I feel so liberated here.

I don't drink coffee, or smoke, which made me look pretty straight-edge off the bat. I've felt like a prude before, but not for turning down coffee.

Most people here, at least at the socioeconomic level we're interacting with, don't drink tap water. Although my homestay "cousin"/program-mate saw them fill the big water jugs from the tap. But I think it must get filtered in the machine. Otherwise it would be ridiculous, because it's two feet from the sink.

Hmm, what other beverages have I been drinking? Oh, haha. Not alcohol! No sir, no 21st birthday sloshfest for me. (Although drinking is legal in Jordan, and most alcohol sales are to Muslims, not Christians. I think there are bars somewhere in Amman; this has not been verified.)

I haven't drank any milk since I got here, which is actually kindof odd. We have alot of yogurt, though. I should make sure I eat more of that.